BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 151 



begun to fear that the eggs might prove unfertile. 

 However, three of the five eggs hatched out, the 

 other two having stuck together in some way. 

 Both cock and hen came to the nest together, but 

 the cock seemed to do most of the actual feeding, 

 the hen looking on admiringly. I was able to 

 secure a very good photograph of the cock feeding 

 the young. He is alone at the nest, as he usually 

 arrived a short time before his mate. 



Three or four days after the hatching of the 

 young I again rigged up my camera and waited 

 patiently. This time the hen came alone all the 

 afternoon, and for two or three days there was no 

 sign of the cock, so I supposed he had been trapped. 



One afternoon, however, after the hen had come 

 to the nest several times alone as usual, a cock 

 bird began to call from the top of a neighbouring 

 birch tree, and continued for about ten minutes, 

 at the end of which he was joined by the hen. 

 I doubt, however, whether he was the original 

 husband, as he never came near the nest and only 

 accompanied the hen for food occasionally, alto- 

 gether behaving quite differently from what he had 

 previously done if he was the original mate. 



One afternoon I timed the hen's visits to the 

 nest. Her first visit during my watch was at 

 2.35, the second 2.55, the third 3.10, the fourth 

 3.25, the fifth 4 o'clock, and the sixth 4.25. The 

 young always welcomed her with great signs of 

 joy, and the strongest seemed to get most food, as 

 the more feeble were practically swamped by the 

 stronger. The young left the nest on July 3rd, 

 having taken quite seventeen days to become 

 fully fledged, which is, I think, somewhat longer 

 than usual. 



